The Sebald Academy: A Final Safe Place
by A Avenger
Summary: The Quagmires have reunited atop the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, but they can't stay up there forever. What will they find when they finally come down to the Sebald Academy, V.F.D.'s final safe place for both sides of the schism after the fighting is over? A better life, for sure, but will they ever truly be safe?
1. Chapter 1

**Note: ****This story will follow the ASOUE tv show canon rather than the books because the book's rather depressing ending really doesn't give me much creative space to build off on:/ Anyways, enjoy!**

* * *

**Prologue: The Final Safe Place**

"I see it, there it is! Quigley, Isadora, Duncan, come look, we've arrived!"

Rushing out of their rooms on the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, the Quagmire triplets stopped next to Hector as they watched the enormous mansion estate appear in the horizon.

"Wow," Duncan said, muttering to himself. "It's huge."

"I never thought I'd see anything like it ever again." Isadora agreed, gazing upon the mansion with glad eyes. "Not for a long time."

Smiling, Quigley put a hand on both of his siblings' shoulders. "Neither did I."

It was bittersweet moment for the Quagmires, especially after everything they've been through.

For months, both Duncan and Isadora floated alone in the sky with Hector, deeply worried about their friends, the Baudelaires, and thinking that their brother was dead. But then one day they received a message from a crow, a message explaining to them how Quigley was alive and well, and had assisted the V.F.D. greatly in its operations. The somber mood on the self-sustaining hot air mobile home had lifted immediately, and the two triplets were overjoyed when they finally reunited with their long lost sibling after picking Quigley up in the ruins of Anwhistle Aquatics.

But just because the Quagmire triplets were together again did not mean that it was safe for them to return to the ground yet. After Isadora and Duncan exchanged stories with Quigley about Quigley's own adventures with the V.F.D., and the hot air mobile home's close call with the V.F.D. Eagles before being saved by a mysterious submarine at the last second, the three of them decided unanimously that it was too dangerous for them to come down from the sky. There were enemies everywhere, enemies who wanted to see the Quagmires dead, and until they were gone, it would never be safe for them.

That was, of course, all before a coded messaged arrived on a V.F.D. crow last week. Neither Isadora nor Duncan could understand it at first, but with Quigley's basic training in the V.F.D., he'd managed to crack the code, which revealed the coordinates to a V.F.D. Safe Place. A "Final" Safe Place, supposedly, a sanctuary for all whose lives were destroyed by the schism.

And that was now where they were headed.

"Careful now, here we go," Hector said, helping the Quagmires down the rope ladder one by one after they'd said their goodbyes. "Be careful on the way down, this was the lowest I could go."

"Thanks a lot, Hector," Quigley shouted up as he hopped off the ladder down to the mansion rooftop. "For keeping my brother and sister safe all this time!"

"Don't be silly," Hector waved his hand dismissively, shouting back down to the triplets. "I enjoyed every moment with you three and wouldn't have had it any other way!"

"Are you sure you don't want to come with us, Hector?" Isadora called up. "After all you've done, I'm sure the V.F.D. will be more than happy to take you in!"

"Ah, no, no thanks, I'm still a little too skittish to come down off the skies." He laughed. "But knowing that it's safe for you is good enough! Besides, I kind of like it up here. No rules, no scary people, what more do I need?"

The triplets laughed at that. Not only had Hector grown braver since he left the Village of Fowl Devotees, he had also developed a great appreciation for the freedom he found in the skies and nursed quite a strong dislike for rules, which Hector made clear from time to time.

"Alright then, I'll see you guys around!" Hector called down, waving at them as he began to float higher again. "If you need to reach me, you know where I'll be!"

"In the skies!" All three Quagmires shouted in unison, laughing as they waved. "Goodbye Hector! And thanks for everything you've done for us!"

As they continued waving at the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, watching the only home they'd lived in for months float away, the Quagmires did not hear as the door to the rooftop open, nor the two sets of footsteps approach them from behind.

"Hello, you must be the Quagmires." A female voice, chirpy and gentle, said behind them. "It is so nice to finally meet you."

Spinning around, the triplets studied the faces of the two adults before them, one man and one woman, wracking their brains and digging through their memories to remember if they'd ever met them before. Unfortunately, they had not.

When both the lady and the man stepped forward as if to embrace the triplets, both Isadora and Duncan shrunk backward with a startled gasp, while Quigley stepped in front of them protectively. That was enough to stop the two adults in their tracks, and they both stepped backward, red-faced.

"I'm sorry, you must excuse my manners," the lady, who was also dressed in the attire of a judge, said. "I've heard so much about you three that sometimes I forget that none of you must even know who I am." She smiled and offered a slight bow. "I am Justice Strauss."

"And I am Jerome Squalor," The man added. "I was the one who sent you the message with our coordinates. I know you may not know us, but I can assure you that we are both your friends."

Still alarmed at the two strangers, the Quagmires remained apprehensive.

"Just because you know V.F.D. codes and say that you're our friends, doesn't mean that you are." Quigley replied warily.

"And just because you're adults, doesn't mean we have to trust you." Duncan agreed from behind Quigley. "We know better than that now."

"For all we know, you could be working for Count Olaf," Isadora added. "Trying to lure us down from the sky to kidnap us!"

Looking to each other sadly, Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor sighed.

"You poor children," Justice Strauss said thoughtfully. "You've been through so much, you don't even know who to trust anymore. No child should ever have to go through what you did, betrayed at every turn..."

Pausing for a moment, the Justice Strauss dabbed at her eyes with a pocket handkerchief, and it almost seemed as if she was crying. Confused by this, the triplets looked to each other with raised eyebrows, and then back at the two adults.

"Count Olaf is gone," Jerome Squalor explained. "He's been missing for nearly four months now, and I think its safe to say that he'll never come back again."

"Never?" Duncan asked, a tone of hopefulness in his voice. "Count Olaf is finally gone, forever?"

"He won't ever hurt you again," Justice Strauss confirmed with a beaming smile, to which the triplets looked to each other with glad delight. "Now that you're here, I can promise you that you will spend the rest of your childhood safe and protected, without needing to worry about anyone like him ever again."

"_Here_?" The triplets repeated, cocking their heads. Now thrilled with the prospect of being safe once more, the Quagmires' suspicions about the two adults had mostly disappeared, though they were still curious as to what this sanctuary was.

"Sebald Academy," Justice Strauss nodded, gesturing at the out of the rooftop to the view they had of the entire estate. "Also formerly known as Sebald Estate."

Looking down at the estate grounds for the first time, the Quagmires were amazed by what they saw. Below them were sprawling gardens and courtyards, with neat pathways laid over green and freshly cut grass, while smaller blocks of buildings made up the perimeter of the estate. The main mansion building, which they were standing on right now, was of course at the center of it all.

"It will serve as a place to help and shelter children like you," she continued saying as the Quagmires observed the estate in awe. "Children with no one there for them, who just need a safe place to live in."

"There are already other people here," Duncan noted, observing as handfuls of kids ranging from children to teenagers roamed the estate grounds. "A lot of them."

"Of course. As you might already know, the conflict within the V.F.D. was very destructive." Justice Strauss explained. "There were many victims that were left orphaned on _both _sides of the schism."

"But with recent events, I think that it's safe to say that the conflict is finally over." Jerome added. "That was why we built this school, it's a sanctuary, a haven for all. Welcome to the _final _Safe Place." He turned to her and then back to the Quagmires. "Shall we?"

Leading the way, Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor made their way down to the ground floor, giving the Quagmires a quick tour of the estate grounds.

"When we first came together to talk about this idea that we both had, we weren't sure how we were going to do it." Jerome admitted, explaining as they walked. "I was wealthy, yes, and Justice Strauss was a judge, but we needed more than just that. Luckily for us, the new Duchess of Winnipeg and this woman named Sally Sebald approached us to help."

"Sally's brother had been a very important member of the V.F.D. you see, but unfortunately, he had been murdered sometime during the schism." Justice Strauss said. "His name was Gustav Sebald, and he left behind a very large estate for his sister to manage after his death. Wanting to honor her brother's memory, Sally offered to use Sebald Estate as the grounds for our new school, while the Duchess of Winnipeg funds our staff's wages."

"Without either of them, none of this would've been possible." Jerome added, smiling.

Both Jerome Squalor and Justice Strauss stopped talking for a few seconds as they watched two children run by, laughing together as they played.

"It really does seem wonderful here." Isadora commented, smiling sincerely as they continued to walk.

"Thank you for saying that," Justice Strauss replied happily. "I'm sure you'll truly be able to find a home here. But, come now, I'm sure you must want to get settled down. Let me show you to your rooms."

Still following behind the two adults, the Quagmires finally arrived at a huge building, probably the second biggest one in the estate besides the mansion.

"This building will serve as the school's dormitory. There are five floors, with ten rooms on each floor that can occupy two people. The younger children will be on the lower floors, while the older ones will stay on the higher floors."

Entering the building, the Quagmires found that it was mostly empty, which wasn't all that surprising given that it was the middle of the day and everyone would be outside doing something. Going up the stairs, Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor led the triplets to the third floor.

"So, this will be your floor, but..." Jerome began saying, wiping his brow with a handkerchief. "The three of you will have to be separated."

"Separated?" The triplets turned to adults raising an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"We have to house the boys and girls in separate rooms, you see," Justice Strauss replied, explaining to the siblings. "Boys share rooms with only other boys, and girls share rooms with only other girls."

"Of course, since you're siblings we'd normally be willing to make an exception for you three to stay together," Jerome continued saying. "But the only problem with that is that the rooms only occupy two at most, meaning one of you will have to be seperated from the other two again." He gave the triplets a guilty look. "Sorry."

Turning to each other, the Quagmires shared uncertain glances with one another. The past few months living in hiding aboard the self-sustaining hot air mobile home had been difficult, but at least they had each other. The Quagmires' had spent so much time together after their reunion that for a long time, the only other people they saw everyday was each other. That was why, even though they were safe now, it was going to be tough for the triplets to be separated so suddenly again.

"I know what you might be thinking," Justice Strauss said understandingly, leaning down so that she was at face level with the Quagmires. "And trust me, I know how difficult it must be for you. But nothing bad will happen to you here, I promise, and you'll see that it won't be so bad. After all, you'll all still see each other many times throughout the day, right? You'll see each other in the morning before school, and you'll all share classes, and after that you could play sports together. It'll be fun, and you'll get to live normal lives again."

Justice Strauss smiled hopefully at the children, and upon seeing how genuinely she wanted to see them happy, the Quagmires forced themselves to smile back.

"Fine," Quigley said, stepping forward. "I'll do it."

"Quigley!" Isadora exclaimed.

"You were gone for so long," Duncan protested. "You've only just found us again! Why not let me—"

"It's alright, Duncan, Isadora." Quigley assured them, looking to his brother and sister. "I won't ever be too far away. It's just like Justice Strauss said, I'll just be down the corridor, so we won't ever really be too far apart, will we?"

The two triplets were reluctant to let their brother go again, but after listening to Quigley's calm words, Isadora and Duncan realized that he was only doing this so that neither of them had to be the ones being separated. Looking to each other, the two triplets finally consented after a few moments of thought with silent nods.

Bursting in an excited yelp of delight, Justice Strauss embraced the children in a big hug, which this time, they accepted.

"I'm just so happy that you're finally here, and safe!" Justice Strauss said. "You have no idea what it was like searching for you!"

"It does almost seem like a miracle," Jerome agreed, a grim expression on his face. "Our crows had been searching for months, but there was just no sign of you. We actually thought that we'd lost you guys. Kit was one of the most capable women I've ever known, but fighting off eagles from a submarine is no easy task."

"Kit?" Quigley repeated, cocking his head. "The eagles? What are you talking about?"

"Why, we're talking about Kit Snicket." Justice Strauss replied. "She was the one who took the Queequeg and saved your siblings that night."

Hearing that, all three Quagmire children's mouths dropped open as they gasped in slow realization.

During their time on the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, Isadora and Duncan had talked with Quigley often about the time they were nearly sent crashing into the sea by monstrously huge eagles, and how a heroic rescuer in a submarine came to their aid, right before being attacked by an unseen sea creature from the depths. And although Isadora and Duncan observed that it was the sea creature's appearance that scared away the eagles and guaranteed their escape, the Quagmires would have never been able to guess that it was Kit Snicket who was in that submarine that night.

"B-But..." Quigley stammered, overwhelmed at this sudden revelation. "If that was her... Then where is she now?"

"Missing." Jerome Squalor said flatly, pausing for a moment. "Our sources say that she was last seen drifting off into the sea on a makeshift raft, wounded and unconscious."

The other two Quagmires turned to Quigley as his face fell, silently putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. Even though he only knew her for a short amount of time, Kit Snicket still did leave quite a lasting impression on the young Quigley Quagmire. Not only did she teach him a great deal about the V.F.D., Kit had also taken Quigley in at a time when he was all alone, separated from both his siblings and his friends, and for that, he often thought of her as his mentor figure in the V.F.D. in place of his late parents.

"Oh no..." Duncan said softly, horrified. "That was Kit Snicket... She saved us, and we left her."

"We didn't have a choice," Isadora said, speaking as much to Quigley as she was to Duncan. "We had to find dry land... If we hadn't, who knows whether our balloons could've held us up, and we would've fallen to the sea and been swept away by that... _thing._"

"You mustn't blame yourselves, children." Justice Strauss said sadly. "If anyone was to blame, it was us. Kit wanted to keep all three of you safe, Quagmires, to see you reunited and standing with the Baudelaires at the Hotel Denouement as they finally put Count Olaf away." The regret in her eyes as she looked away in shame was unmistakable, and clear as day. "But after the fire..."

"Fire?" Quigley slowly looked up to Justice Strauss. "At the Last Safe Place? The Baudelaires..."

Realizing that no one had been able to fill the Quagmires in about the Baudelaires whereabouts yet, Justices Strauss found herself unable to answer, needing to pause to collect herself for several moments. Instead, Jerome Squalor stepped forward to face the Quagmires with their answers.

"The Hotel Denouement burnt down, and the Baudelaires are missing." He sighed, obviously reluctant to be the one to break the bad news. "They went after Count Olaf during the fire, but had to jump into a boat with that wicked man to escape before the hotel burnt down. After that, no one's seen them again. They disappeared."

"Disappeared? What do you mean?" Duncan's face was red, as if he was ready to burst into tears at any moment. "How could you say that? How could you let Count Olaf take them? We have to go after them!"

"They could be in danger," Isadora agreed, just as visibly distraught as Duncan. "Who knows what Count Olaf would do to them? Please, we have to look for them now!"

"We have, children," Jerome rubbed his forehead dismally, his dark eyes seeming to brim with tears. "We've searched the ocean for months, looking high and low, studying tidal charts, all with the help of the police too! But no one has been able to find a trace of the Baudelaires out in the sea, nobody knows where they went."

"Then we can't just stay here," Duncan insisted, looking up at the adults with wide, pleading eyes. "We have to keep looking!"

"We _will_ keep looking." Justice Strauss promised reassuringly, finally pulling herself together to speak again. "But not with you, Quagmires, not when it's our fault."

She turned to Jerome, and the Quagmires saw guilt in both of their faces.

"None of this would've happened in the first place if I had just listened to them. If _we _would just listen to them." Jerome's face was dark, dark with sadness and regret. "I wish I had their courage, letting them go was the biggest mistake of my life."

"The law isn't always just. It isn't always good, and sometimes bad men escape justice." Justice Strauss said distantly, as if echoing the words of someone she hadn't seen in too long. Then, she looked down to the Quagmires. "But this time, we'll make it right. I promise."

The Quagmires were slowly beginning to understand that there was no convincing the adults otherwise on this one, for Justice Strauss and Jerome Squalor were determined now to keep them safe. Tears falling from his eyes, Duncan sobbed quietly as a similarly distraught Isadora rubbed his shoulders soothingly, while a crestfallen Quigley hung his head sadly.

"It's time you lived normal lives again," Jerome said, sighing once more but managing a bittersweet smile. "It's all over now, the schism, the fires, the scheming. You won't have to worry about any of that here." He patted the children on their backs. "Come on now, let's show you to your rooms."

* * *

Each of the Quagmires' assigned rooms had already been specially prepared for them days before they arrived. Justice Strauss knew that the Quagmires didn't bring much with them during their journeys, and so she not only made sure to supply them with their school uniforms, but also made sure to buy new clothes for them, placing them inside their personal closets in their respective rooms.

She also knew that the Quagmires didn't have many personal belongings after the fire in their house. Wanting them to feel at home here at the Sebald Academy, Justice Strauss also bought many things that she thought the triplets would like, such as maps and cartography books for Quigley, poems and classical literature for Isadora, and an intricately crafted leather notebook and fountain pen for Duncan, amongst many other things.

But after everything they'd heard about Kit Snicket and the Baudelaires, the bed was the first thing that Isadora, Duncan, and Quigley went for when they entered their rooms, collapsing on it as they pondered sadly about the fate of their missing friends.

The triplets should be grateful, they knew that. Things could have gone really differently for them, and they'd already escaped perilous situations that not many would have been lucky enough to survive in Count Olaf's grasp, atop the Mortmain Mountains, and on the self-sustaining hot air mobile home. There was nothing they could complain about, because unlike the Baudelaires, Isadora, Duncan and Quigley were safe now and in good hands.

And yet, the Quagmires just couldn't help but feel terribly depressed about the uncertainly terrible fate of their friends. There really wasn't a word that any of them could think of to describe how they were feeling, but the horrid gut-wrenching sensation of despair and sadness they felt was absolutely terrible, especially for the sensitive Duncan and brooding Quigley.

Both Quagmire boys had developed feelings for Violet, and oftentimes when Quigley went to bed, he'd think back to the tender moment that he and the eldest Baudelaire had shared on a ledge halfway up a frozen waterfall on Mount Mortmain. Quigley had been all alone then, an orphan separated from his siblings, but Violet was there for him. And even though their time together was fleeting, he still hoped that one day they could be reunited, so that maybe, just maybe, they could pick things up where they left off.

And the same went for Duncan. Even though his crush on Violet had been a rather childish one and nowhere nearly as intense as Quigley's, Duncan's feelings for her during their semester at Prufrock Prep had been just as real as his brother's. Often, during his time on the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, Duncan would write letters of love to Violet, pouring his heart and soul out onto those pages before letting them float away into the sky, hoping that somehow, someway, his words would find a way into Violet's heart.

But after hearing the news about the unfortunate fate of the Baudelaires, both brothers weren't sure anymore if they would ever see Violet again. She'd never found the safety and security that they had now, and for all they knew, Violet, Klaus and Sunny Baudelaire's bodies could be resting at the bottom of the ocean at this very moment.

That thought was enough to distress Duncan so much that he spent the rest of the evening curled up into a ball, sobbing and crying himself to sleep while Isadora comforted him. On the other hand, Quigley had begun to get up and pace around in his own room, unable to sit still anymore. Whenever Quigley got overly anxious, fidgeting seemed to always be his body's instinctive response.

However, the lone triplet was suddenly distracted when the knob to his room suddenly turned and the door opened. Stopping in his tracks, Quigley turned and looked at his visitor.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know that anyone was going to be in here," the other boy seemed surprised at seeing Quigley there, and took a step back so that he stood at the doorway. He lifted up a notebook that he had been carrying to show Quigley. "I was just coming here to drop off some things, is it okay if I come in?"

"Oh, of course." Quigley managed a friendly smile, even though he had just been thoroughly depressed not seconds ago. "Come in."

The boy, who seemed about Quigley's age, quickly stepped inside.

"Thanks." He said, placing the notebook on the other bed in the room. "I did hear that we were going to have a few new students joining us soon, but I had no idea that you'd be here so soon."

"Yeah, that's me and my siblings. We're triplets." Quigley, who had been studying the boy the entire time, said, then asked. "Are you my roommate?"

"Me? Oh no, that would be Mason Rehmoff." The boy said. "He wasn't in class again today, so Mrs Manora asked me to take notes for him and drop them off in his room." He gestured to the notebook, then offered a friendly wave at Quigley. "My name is Lucan Caliban."

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Quigley Quagmire." Quigley replied, but raised his eyebrows at that name. For some reason, he felt like he'd heard it somewhere before...

"It's nice to meet you, Quigley..." Lucan said, pausing. "_Quagmire_? Does that mean your brother and sister are Isadora and Duncan Quagmire then?"

Quigley was barely able to hide his surprise.

"Yes, they are. How did you know? Have you met them already?"

"No, I've only just finished class ten minutes ago so I just got here." Lucan laughed. "But my sister did know your siblings, she was the librarian at Prufrock Prep when they went there. Her name was Olivia Caliban."

Recalling the stories that his siblings told him about their time in Prufrock Prep with the Baudelaires, Quigley suddenly remembered why that name sounded so familiar.

"That's right, Olivia Caliban." Quigley said. "She helped my siblings and their friends when they went to school at Prufrock."

Lucan nodded. "Oh yes, your siblings and the Baudelaires. I know about them too."

"You know the Baudelaires?" Quigley was even more surprised. "How?"

"My sister helped Isadora, Duncan, and the Baudelaires a far greater deal than you could ever know, even after they left Prufrock."

"Oh, I didn't know." Quigley frowned. "Isadora and Duncan never mentioned her outside of that horrible school."

"They probably didn't know."

Quigley tilted his head to a side. "Was she with V.F.D.?"

"Not at the time," Lucan admitted. "But she was recruited during her search for your siblings by a man named Jacques Snicket."

"I know a Jacques Snicket." Quigley said quietly. "He's dead."

"It seems like a lot of people with the V.F.D. are dead these days." Lucan said with a sigh. "Including my sister. After your siblings escaped to safety aboard the self-sustaining hot air mobile home, she followed the Baudelaires to the Hinterlands. There was a fire there, and then..."

Lucan trailed off, but Quigley more than understood.

"I lost my parents when I was much younger, so I've lived with my sister for as long as I can remember." Lucan continued saying sadly. "When she left and never came back, I didn't know what to do. If it weren't for Justice Strauss coming to find me, I might not have been able to survive on my own. My sister was all I had left."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Quigley said sympathetically. "Me and my siblings, we lost our parents in a fire too. We know what it's like to lose someone."

"I guess we all do." Lucan said, managing a weary smile. "Here at Sebald Academy, we're all orphans one way or another."

Immediately thinking about the Baudelaires once more, Quigley felt his heart sink. Indeed, they were all orphans here. Sebald Academy was a place for people like the Quagmires and Baudelaires of this world to belong; a final safe place. But the Baudelaires weren't here. It seemed that their tale was the most unfortunate of all the unfortunate tales in this school, because unlike them, Violet, Klaus, and Sunny never found a safe home to belong to.

"Hey," Lucan said, bringing Quigley's thoughts back to the present. "It was really nice meeting you, but I've really got to go now. I have a philosophy class in fifteen minutes, and that's my favorite class so I don't want to be late." He smiled. "I was glad we could talk though, and I hope to be seeing you and your siblings around sometime!"

And with that, Lucan was gone, leaving Quigley all alone with his thoughts again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 1: A Better Beginning**

Surprisingly, the next several days at Sebald Academy actually went pretty smooth for the Quagmires.

After sleeping on the sad news that they'd received on their first evening there, the triplets were quickly introduced to the school's curriculum and life at the Sebald Academy the next morning. The classes were actually interesting, unlike the mundane subjects taught at most regular schools, and encompassed a wide range of both practical and theoretical topics. Depending on each student's preferences, they could take up to ten classes, but there were only four that were compulsory.

The first of these classes was Woodcraft, taught by the renowned survivalist Alan Adryan, who also happened to be one of the few surviving members of the old V.F.D. Next was Literature, which was taught by the old Mrs Manora, who seemed to be a walking encyclopedia of culture and literary knowledge. The third was Math, sadly, but then again, everyone needed at least a basic mathematical literacy to survive in the real world. And lastly, there was fencing, where all students here at the Sebald Academy would learn the basics of dueling from probably the only unlikeable teacher in this entire school, Louis Astor, who was also a member of the old V.F.D.

Besides those four classes though, the three Quagmires had chosen from a variety of electives to supplement their learning. Isadora was interested in Music as that seemed to be another way to express her poetry, while Duncan chose to take Creative Writing, because of his interest in journalism. Quigley, meanwhile, still haunted by recent events, decided to take History, hoping that he'd be able to find some more answers about the V.F.D.

Needles to say, though, the triplets were satisfied with the interesting curriculum and life at Sebald Academy, and were ecstatic at being able to go to school like regular children once more. No longer were they faced with plots or schemes against their lives, nor were they tormented by unfortunate events at every turn. Just like Justice Strauss had promised, the Quagmires now lived normal lives again, going to classes, making new friends, and spending most of their free time doing homework.

It was a good life, a life free from tragedy and sorrow. A better beginning.

* * *

"Do you think tomorrow's Math test will be tough?" Duncan wondered as he munched on his sandwich idly.

The three Quagmires were sitting together in the school cafeteria, eating lunch together. Even though they were now separated by several rooms, they still saw each other often throughout the day, and always sat with each other during classes, breaks, and lunch periods.

"I hope not," Isadora said. "I have a music recital tonight that I have to practice for, so I probably won't be able to study much."

"Neither will I." Duncan admitted. "I still haven't finished my short-story for Creative Writing yet, and it's due tomorrow."

The three Quagmires were silent for a few seconds. Stressing out over schoolwork seemed almost alien to them after everything they'd gone through, and it all felt almost unreal, going from having to worry about whether they'd ever see each other again, to fretting about classes and tests. And this was all the more especially true for Quigley, who really wanted to start this brilliant new chapter of his life happily, but couldn't help but thinking about everything he'd went through. From the missing Baudelaires and Kit Snicket, to all the questions about the V.F.D. that he hadn't found the answers to yet.

"It sometimes almost seems too good to be true, doesn't it?" Quigley sighed. "Everything we have now. I mean, how long has it been?"

"Two weeks," Duncan nodded quietly. "And I have never felt as safe as I have in these two weeks ever since our house burnt down."

"And that's not a bad thing, right?" Isadora said, unsure. "I mean, after everything that's happened, don't you think we deserve something a little more normal?"

Both Duncan and Quigley glanced at each other, the same thought on both their minds. Of course, they wanted to ask if the Baudelaires' deserved that too, but given that the answer to that question was obvious and it would likely only depress the three Quagmires even more, they both instead chose to keep quiet.

"Hey, come on," Duncan was the first to speak again. "Let's not think about that too much. I mean, sitting around sad and dejected about something that's already happened is no way to celebrate two weeks of going to school like regular kids again."

At this, both Quigley and Isadora forced a smile. The triplets were, of course, extremely grateful for this chance at a fresh start in their lives, since not many who had been involved in the schism's conflicts had made it out alive. The Sebald Academy was a haunting reminder of that fact, after all, with its many orphans now enrolled as students.

"Duncan's right," Isadora said, beaming. "And you know what else? Worrying about a Math test isn't any way to spend today either."

"None of us have ever been bad at Math," Quigley mused to himself, smiling. "So what are we actually worrying about, anyway?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I was ever bad at Math," Duncan chuckled. "But, I might've failed a Math test or two before..."

At that, the three triplets burst out into laughter, now no longer thinking about the unfortunate events that loomed in their past.

"Hey," A voice suddenly called, interrupting the laughter between the triplets. "Mind if I sit with you guys?"

The Quagmires turned to see that it was Lucan Caliban, the younger brother of the late Olivia Caliban. Lucan had hit it off right away with Quigley upon their first meeting, and after Quigley introduced him to his siblings, both Isadora and Duncan became fast friends with him too, even though they were extremely upset to hear what had become of his sister, the caring librarian they knew at Prufrock. It was another set of sad news that the Quagmires had to deal with, but they tried not to let it get them down. After all, here at Sebald Academy, they were all orphans one way or another, but at least they had each other, right?

"Oh, not at all." Isadora quickly said, scooting over to make some space for him next to her. "You can sit here, if you'd like."

"I'd like that," he replied, just as quickly. "Very much."

The two of them smiled at each other as Lucan set his tray down beside her. Right then, both Duncan and Quigley thought that they could see the faint hint of a blush on their sister's cheeks, and both exchanged a silent but knowing smile with each other.

"I heard Mrs Manora talking with Jerome Squalor on my way here," Lucan said to the Quagmires as he began chewing on his food. "Mason wasn't in class again today, and they said that they were going to have to talk with Principal Sebald about it later today."

The triplets turned to glance at Mason Rehmoff, Quigley's blonde-haired roommate, who as usual sat by himself in the corner of the school cafeteria during lunch.

"Do you think he'll get in trouble?" Duncan wondered.

"Well, probably not the first time Mrs Manora reports it," Lucan replied, pausing to swallow a mouthful. "He'll probably get off with a slap on the wrist, but if this keeps up..."

"Then Principal Sebald might end up punishing him for it." Quigley finished, then turned to look back at his roommate at the far end of the cafeteria.

At this point, it seemed like the only person that the three Quagmires hadn't befriended was Quigley's own roommate, and not for a lack of trying. Over the past several days, Quigley had tried to get to know Mason a little better, only to be constantly rebuffed by his cold demeanor. Mason barely spoke, and when he did, he always seemed distant and uninterested.

"Are you still taking notes for him?" Isadora asked. "With all the classes he's missing, he'd probably need it."

"With all the classes he's missing, he'd better be paying you." Quigley laughed.

Lucan chuckled, but shook his head. "No, I'm not taking notes for Mason anymore. My roommate, Felix is doing it now."

"Felix Devreaux?" Duncan asked, and Lucan nodded. The Quagmires didn't really know Felix, since he was a year younger than them, but they had heard about a lot about the timid boy bound by crutches. Apparently, Felix was one of the very few in this school who came from a family fire-starters, and like the others like him, was sometimes ostracized by his peers for his background.

"Last week I told Mrs Manora I couldn't do it anymore," Lucan explained. "At the rate Mason is missing his classes, there was no way I could help him catch up without falling behind myself. She understood that, though, and so she picked Felix to start taking notes for him instead."

"She picked him?" Isadora asked.

"He volunteered, actually." Lucan shrugged. "Nobody else would, I guess."

"Not if he's always so cold to everyone around him." Quigley said. "I still don't know what he gets up to everyday when he misses class, and I'm his roommate."

"Maybe it's better not to know," Duncan shrugged. "I mean, you guys do know what they say about him, right?"

Gossiping was the students' favorite pastime, and gossip travelled around Sebald Academy quick. However, Quigley had not heard anything about Mason yet.

"What?" He asked curiously.

Duncan paused for a moment, then leaned closer to his siblings and Lucan, whispering in a hushed voice.

"They say that Mason was a participant in the V.F.D.'s final schism."

"Duncan!" Isadora gasped, shocked that her brother had said that. "Don't say things like that!"

"But it's true!" Duncan insisted. "Everyone tells me the same thing, Mason was one of the Renegades!"

Quigley frowned. He'd read about the Renegades recently, after finally having the chance to go through _The Incomplete History of Secret Organizations _in full over the past few days. In its most recent chapters, the book describes another internal conflict within the V.F.D. that happened only three years ago, when a handful of V.F.D. apprentices who lost their parents over the course of the schism began fighting back against their enemies with morally questionable tactics. When finally confronted by their superiors, this group of fifteen apprentices rejected the V.F.D.'s noble principles and ideas, instead banding together to stage a coup under the leadership of an apprentice known only as the _Iconoclast. _Ever since then, they had been known as the Renegades.

"Where'd you hear that from?" Quigley asked.

"Florence Farrington told me the other day while we were talking," Duncan explained. "And I heard Quintin Ericsson and Cassidy Russler say the same too."

"Well, that doesn't really mean anything," Isadora said. "Students gossip all the time, it could just be rumors."

"Mark Twain once said a lie can travel halfway across the world before the truth can put on its boots, and the same goes for rumors." Lucan mused philosophically, but then shook his head at the Quagmires. "But unfortunately, there isn't any question about it this time. Duncan is right, Mason _was_ one of the fifteen apprentices who defected from the V.F.D. three years ago."

A surprised silence came over the table at those words, as the Quagmires, even Duncan, found themselves at a loss for words.

"I've heard the adults talking about it, so I know for sure." Lucan explained, then paused. "But you know what, it's not really a topic we need to discuss. Nobody knows where the Renegades are, and the schism is over. It's all behind us. Besides..."

Glancing behind each shoulder to make sure nobody was eavesdropping on their conversation, Lucan turned back to the triplets and continued speaking, softer this time.

"It's a sensitive subject, the Renegades were enemies of _both _the fire-starting and fire-fighting sides of the V.F.D."

"He's right," Quigley nodded, remembering what he'd read about them. "The Renegades were young and relied on extremely destructive and unpredictable tactics."

"More than a few students here would've likely been hurt by them before." Duncan said, understanding, and Lucan nodded.

"That's why we shouldn't talk about that _here_," Isadora elbowed Duncan lightly in the ribs. "So let's talk about something else, _anything _else."

"Well, for one, have you guys started studying for tomorrow's quiz?" Lucan asked.

The Quagmires all looked to each other. "Nope!"

The four of them broke out laughing at this, and continued chatting idly over their lunch about a wide variety of other things that didn't have to do with the V.F.D. or its mysterious and unfortunate history. Because, like regular kids who attended school, the Quagmires had a lot of difficult schoolwork to deal with, and in this case, talking about tomorrow's history quiz was a far better use of their time than talking about a now dead secret organization. Or so they thought.

* * *

Three years ago, fifteen young apprentices turned their backs on the V.F.D. and went on their own crusade against their enemies. Using everything they had been taught throughout their extremely short years, these young boys and girls fought fire with fire, determined to deal out punishment to their foes any way they saw fit. But while the Renegades were young and driven, this could not change the fact that they were still just children, children who were in way over their heads, and when the surviving members of the fire-starting side of the schism finally stopped underestimating the apprentices and regrouped, the tables turned quickly. Within the next year, the Renegades' numbers were halved, and whatever happened to them after that, nobody knows.

Well, nobody except maybe Mason.

"Oh, hey," Quigley said as he entered his room to find Mason laying on his own bed, scribbling away furiously on his commonplace book. "I didn't think I'd find you here."

"Oh yeah?" Mason said distantly, not even looking up to Quigley. "Why's that?"

"You know," Quigley shrugged, walking over to his own bed. "Because I rarely see you, even though we're roommates. You come back so late at night when I'm already asleep, and when I leave in the morning for class you're still asleep. Not to mention the fact that you're barely in class most days."

Without even pausing to look up at Quigley, Mason simply shrugged, and continued writing.

It was really too bad that Quigley couldn't seem to get his own roommate to warm up to him. Of all the people here at Sebald Academy, Mason was the only one who could have the answers that Quigley really wanted. Sure Alan Adryan and Louis Astor were both adults who'd been longtime members of the V.F.D., but Mr. Adryan had been in hiding in the jungles of Peru after being stranded there nearly ten years ago, and the bitter old Louis Astor would probably sneer and turn his back on Quigley if he ever tried asking.

But Mason... Maybe if Quigley could just get Mason to open up a little, he'd have his answers.

"So, why are you here then?" Quigley asked, trying to press for a conversation.

"Huh?"

"In our room. You barely come back at all, why today?"

Mason seemed a little irritated now by Quigley's attempts to start a conversation, but he responded anyway.

"I'm writing something," he said, then glanced at Quigley with an annoyed look. "Something _personal_, so I was actually hoping to get a little privacy here."

Quigley frowned at this. What could be so personal that Mason didn't want anyone to see what he was writing? Was he hiding something, or was there something else going on that Quigley and all the students here at Sebald Academy didn't know about?

"Is it..." Quigley paused. "Important?" While Quigley knew better than to pry, he just couldn't help it. He had his questions, and Mason had his answers.

"It's private." Mason muttered, slamming the book shut. "You don't need to know, and since I'm obviously not going to get the privacy I was looking for in here, I think I'm just going to head out."

Watching as Mason threw his book in a bag and slung it over his shoulder, Quigley sighed as his roommate stormed out of the room. _Well,_ he thought, _there goes my answers._

* * *

Once, long ago, the V.F.D. was a united and noble organization, with an influence that extended through all walks of life and statuses in society. Some members came from wealth and were Judges, Academics, Counts, Businessmen and Duchesses. But there were also others who were working people, like Janitors, Taxi Drivers, Security Guards, and Waiters. What they all had in common, though, was that they each possessed a staunch willingness to do good, and the V.F.D. gave them all a chance to do just that. To put out the figurative fires that raged all around the world and to leave it a better place, a quieter place.

That much, the Quagmires already knew about the V.F.D., but there was still so much more to learn, so much more that they didn't know. What did the V.F.D. do, besides putting out literal and figurative fires, and how did they go around achieving that? More importantly, what did it even mean to be a part of the V.F.D. at all? Was it just a position of honor and status, being a part of a secret society, or did it mean so much more?

"Quigley?" Isadora asked. "Are you okay?"

Suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, Quigley looked back at his two siblings.

"Hm? Yeah?"

The three triplets were sitting together at one of the many beautiful gardens of Sebald Academy, enjoying a little bit of nature as they studied to help make studying a little less dull for them.

"You seem a little distracted." Isadora said. "Is everything alright with you?"

"Oh... W-Well of course I'm alright." Quigley paused, then sighed. "I was just thinking, that's all."

"Thinking about what?" Duncan asked.

"You know," Quigley trailed off momentarily. "Everything."

Both Isadora and Duncan sighed at that. Neither of them liked to think about the things that happened to them, and they didn't like it either when Quigley thought about it. It was a little ungrateful, after all, to dwell on the past when things were just finally returning to normal for the triplets. And that was all Isadora and Duncan wanted; to live like regular kids again, and so did Quigley. Unfortunately for the third triplet, though, he just couldn't help it. These thoughts haunted Quigley's mind, creeping up on him when he least expected it, when all he wanted to do was live a normal life again.

"I-I don't know." Quigley ended up saying, shaking his head. "Maybe I'm just a little tired, that's all. We have been doing a lot of studying, after all."

"But we still have more than half the material to cover," Duncan said, referring to the textbooks on their laps. "Come on, Quigley, we've got to focus."

Looking down at the pages that displayed an overwhelming amount of graphs and numbers, Quigley wondered how he went from investigating mysteries about a secret organization, back to dull old schoolwork.

"Alright, where were we?"

Before either of the other two triplets could speak, though, the sound of rustling leaves and footsteps could be heard a short distance away.

"Someone's there." Duncan said, before both Isadora and Quigley shushed him.

"But who could it be, at this hour?" Isadora asked, her voice a faint whisper. "It's a school night, and it's already midnight."

"All of the students should be asleep," Quigley agreed, ducking into a crouch. "So that means someone's up to something."

"Something bad." Quigley muttered gravely.

The Quagmires paused for a few moments as the sounds of footsteps and hushed conversation passed by them.

"They've passed us, come on, let's go hear what they're saying."

Before either Isadora or Duncan could talk him out of it, Quigley took off, following the footsteps closely behind as he hid behind the many trees and bushes of the garden in the darkness. Hesitantly, the other two Quagmires followed, staying close behind their sibling as they tried to take a peek at who the mysterious figures were.

"I think I can almost hear them," Quigley said to his siblings, his voice a low whisper, after several more minutes of stalking. "We just have to get closer."

Having gone too far to back out now, the three Quagmires continued forward, quickly rushing forward quietly to duck behind a patio bench. Now close enough to watch the mysterious figures without being spotted, the Quagmires peeked out of their cover and watched.

"T-Theres nothing here." One of the voices said in a soft whisper.

"It's got to be here." The other replied. "I mean, where else could it be?"

There were two of them, one of them slightly taller than the other, conversing quietly as they studied the grand fountain at the center of the garden. Leaning forward, the Quagmires squinted at the two figures, trying to make out their faces in the darkness. They couldn't quite see them yet, but it seemed like the shorter of the two was holding some kind of stick of some sort.

"Come on, we shouldn't be out here," the shorter figure said, his voice urgent. "I mean, w-what if we get caught?"

"Caught doing what?" The other responded. "We'll just tell them we wanted to sneak out and explore."

"T-They won't believe us." The conversation continued. "Wandering around at night like this, they'd have to be at least a little suspicious."

"That doesn't matter. Just as long as we keep our mouths shut, no one will have to know."

The other didn't respond, and the taller figure turned to him.

"You _are _going to keep your mouth shut if someone finds us, right?"

"I... Yeah, but—"

Before he could finish speaking, the taller figure had grabbed him by the shoulders firmly, shaking him roughly.

"Listen to me carefully, _no one_ can ever find out about the vaults before we find them. Understand?"

"Y-Yes, I know Mason, but..."

"_Felix_! No one!"

Eyes widening at those names, the Quagmires were each thoroughly surprised, but none as much as Quigley, who lost his footing as the three triplets crouched, causing him to go tumbling forward into the open.

"What the..." Mason muttered in surprise, taking a step back upon seeing his roommate appearing from behind a patio bench. "Quigley? What are you doing here?"

"We could ask the same about you," Duncan said as he and Isadora stepped out, revealing themselves. "What are you doing snooping around in the gardens past midnight?"

Mason remained silent, but looked to his crutch-ridden accomplice.

"I was just taking my friend out to enjoy the gardens." He said after a pause. "As you can see, he has difficulty getting around alone, so I came along to make sure he didn't fall or anything."

"Taking a walk in the gardens, at night?" Quigley dusted his knees, then stood up and looked to Mason. "Really?"

"Really." Mason shrugged. "I don't know if you've heard, but Felix has quite a bit of trouble getting anywhere in the daytime without being picked on by other students."

"We know about Felix," Isadora said, looking to the brown haired boy. "He's our friend's roommate. Lucan told us about him."

"That's why we find it hard to believe that you'd hang out with..." Quigley said, and then paused to look up at Mason. "_Him._"

The implications behind Duncan's words were clear, and by the way the former Renegade bristled, it was obvious that Mason took offense to that. However, having found that he was obviously up to something, the Quagmires stood their ground, not wanting to let Mason get away with whatever it was that he might've been doing. Having arrived at a standoff, the three triplets now found themselves at an impasse, with neither Mason nor them willing to back down.

"I-It's true." Felix stammered after several seconds of silence, though he was thoroughly unconvincing. "We just wanted to look around, explore. That's all."

"Yeah right, " Quigley countered quickly. "We heard you two talking about some sort of vault."

"And if you two don't start explaining yourselves—" Isadora began saying, only to be interrupted by an outraged Mason.

"You three heard about the vault?"

Mason's voice was low and dangerous, and when he stepped forward, all three triplets took a cautionary step backward. Mason's lean and wiry frame might not have looked so intimidating to the common eye, but now that the Quagmires were aware of his mean reputation, they were obviously thinking twice about messing with this renegade apprentice.

"T-That's right, we heard all about it, you miscreant." Duncan said, trying to put up a strong front. "And we're going to tell Principal Sebald about it if the both of you don't start explaining what exactly you're up to sneaking around in the middle of the night!"

At the mention of Principal Sebald's name, the blonde-haired boy stopped dead in his tracks.

"N-No!" Felix nearly yelled, hobbling forward on his crutch to step in between the Quagmires and Mason. "You can't tell anyone else about it, we don't even know who we can trust!"

The Quagmires frowned. "What are you talking about?"

"No one can know." Mason said quietly, glaring at the Quagmires. "If word reaches the wrong people's ears, we're all finished."

Looking to each other with concerned faces, the Quagmires immediately knew that something was going on, something that they didn't know about. Before any of the three of them could say anything else or think about what they'd just learnt any more, though, more voices and approaching footsteps suddenly became audible. And this time, it sounded like there were a lot more than just two people.

"This is as uncoordinated a project as I've ever seen one, if I can say so myself!" The thundering voice boomed as an older man, no, and enormous man, turned the corner and appeared in the garden. "Aye, and no curfews too!"

The bearded man stopped, and, hands on hips, paused to inspect the five students.

"Students need to learn discipline!" He cried loudly, but not to the Quagmires. Instead, he was calling back to the other approaching figures yet to arrive. "If this ambitious project of yours is going to succeed, you need to be running a tight ship! A ship with a clearly set chain of command, one with a captain at the helm!"

"Um, I'm sorry," Quigley said, cocking his head to a side. "But who are you?"

"_Me_? You don't know who I am?" The man laughed loudly. "Why, I'm Captain Widdershins of course, finally back from my long quest away at sea!"


End file.
